City Councilman Kevin Roden joked after
he fumbled the words of a proclamation that earned uncharacteristic enthusiasm.

“Sorry,” he called to the crowd. He
lifted a pint glass ringed with traces of foam and tipped it from side to side.

“I’m empty,” he said, before finishing
the proclamation that celebrated Armadillo Ale Works’ first commercial batch of
beer. The crowd whooped, hollered and hoisted pints — making a cyclist coasting
down Oakland Street to crank his neck and brake.

The patio of Oak Street Drafthouse and
Cocktail Parlor was packed Friday night. Inside, patrons stood elbow to gut at
the bar, and people edged through the parlor sideways to get to the big back
patio. Locals wore heavy jackets and winter hats to the event. The chill
overwhelmed the propane heating towers, but no one complained. Most tasted the
first draught of Quakertown Stout, the very first taste of the homegrown craft
beer.

Susan Mullins, the mom of Armadillo Ale
Works co-founder and chief brewing officer Bobby Mullins, wore a big grin at
the event. She said she and husband Robert were proud of their son and his best
friend and Armadillo Ale Works CEO, Yanni Arentis. Both fielded jokes about
their son growing up to make beer with good humor.

“And I’m a youth minister,” Susan
Mullins said. “So you kind of have to separate your work life and your personal
life. But at least I’m not a Baptist youth minister.”

Mullins coordinates the spiritual and
social formation of middle schoolers and teens at Immaculate Conception
Catholic Church.

Andry Becker, Arestis’ mother, said she
and her husband, John, were proud to see their son make a dream come true.

“Starting a business together would be a
test of any friendship, I’d think,” John Becker said. “But not only did they
start a business, they stayed friends.”

John Becker said he liked the Quakertown
Stout.

“I like a strong-tasting beer. Because I
like to taste my beer,” he said. “I’m a Guinness drinker, and I don’t like the
light beers all that much. Yeah, I’d take another of these.”

About an hour after the event began, a
steady line out of the bar’s door reached Oak Street. Mullins and Arestis were
mobbed by friends and well wishers who insisted the pair take a photo with
them.

“It honestly hasn’t set in yet,” Bobby
Mullins said, taking in the crowd. A moment later, someone would tap Mullins on
the arm to tell him the news: three of the five kegs were tapped.

“It’s really been awesome, actually, to
have all of these people out here this early. We’ve worked really hard for the
last two years to make this happen,” Mullins said.

What started as a hobby, crafting beer
in the Mullins’ garage grew into a business plan. The pair received a $10,000
award from the University of North Texas, and then watched as their
crowd-sourcing campaign on Kickstarter.com brought in $34,002 in contributions
from 371 backers, some of whom had never tasted the craft beers the company had
concocted and offered at tastings.

“We worked really hard to get our brand
out there,” said Arestis, who shook hands and answered pleas for photos for
hours. “I’ve been working for somebody else since I was 14. Now, this is it.
This is all I’m doing. I’ve always wanted to have my own business.

Arestis and Mullins had originally
dreamed of opening a brewery in Denton. Eventually, they agreed to license
their beers to Deep Ellum Brewing Co. They still operated as Armadillo Ale
Works, and their beer will bear the brand on draft taps at Dan’s Silverleaf,
the Mellow Mushroom and Lucky Lou’s on Fry Street. And once Deep Ellum Brewing
Co. and Armadillo are ready to distribute canned beers, the Ale Works’ label will
be in the cans. For the first commercial batch, patrons got a souvenir pint
glass bearing the Armadillo Ale Works brand.

The stout earned thumbs up in the crowd.

“I’m really into home brewing and local
beer,” said Brandi Lackey, who sent a Facebook invitation for the celebration
to her friends. “I think it’s really good, actually. After you sip, you kind of
taste it a few seconds later. It’s smooth. I think it’s a nice syrupy flavor. I
think I taste syrup?”

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